Refs foul: Top-10 disputed calls at the World Cup

England face heartbreak over Lampard's disallowed goal

The officiating at the World Cup hasn't been of the highest standard. Technology and replays have only made life tougher for the referees.

Even FIFA chief Sepp Blatter was forced to apologise to England and Mexico for the referee errors that contributed to their World Cup exit. Both teams suffered from refereeing errors in the Round of 16 defeats to Germany and Argentina respectively.

Rediff.com showcases the top-10 disputed calls made by the referees in the tournament so far.

Frank Lampard's disallowed goal against Germany

England were denied an equalising goal when a Frank Lampard shot from 2O metres out hit the crossbar and dropped well over the line, but Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda waved play on.

The controversial decision came late in the first-half with the score reading 2-1.

"It was the most important part of the game," England coach Fabio Capello later said of the decision.

"We made some mistakes and the referee made one big mistake but Germany played a good game. Little things decide the result of these matches always. We played well up to 2-1 but after the third goal we were disappointed."

Klose becomes victim against Serbia

After thrashing Australia in the opening encounter, Germany looked like they'd go for the kill against Serbia.

With a heavy dose of youth and a sprinkle of experience, the Germans looked the better of the two on the day.

Thomas Mueller and Miroslav Klose always looked threatening for Germany but the latter's frustrations mounted after he missed chances and had a goal ruled out for offside on the half-hour mark.

But the game was turned upside down seven minutes later when the German forward was given marching orders by referee Alberto Undiano after receiving a second booking for bringing down Milos Krasic.

The referee's decision was questioned by the players and media alike. But that didn't seem to have dented Klose's confidence, considering that the Polish-born German has found the back of the net three times, since that fateful day, to help Germany cruise into the semi-finals.

Smeltz wrongly awarded goal against Italy

New Zealand took a shock lead in the seventh minute through Shane Smeltz in their second Group F encounter against Italy.

Smeltz, the top-scorer for New Zealand in the qualifiers, poked the ball into the net with his right foot after it was deflected from Italy captain Fabio Connavaro following a high free-kick from wide left by Simon Elliott.

Replays showed that Smeltz was in an off-side position when he converted the Elliott free-kick, but the referee failed to spot it and New Zealand pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, holding World Champions Italy to a 1-1 draw.

Estrada clips Torres on the heels, invites refs fury

The European champions had to win at all costs to qualify for the last 16. And qualify they did, after beating ten-man Chile in their Group H match.

Chile were reduced to 10 just under 10 minutes before the break.

Iniesta played the ball wide to Villa, ran on to the striker's return pass and slotted clinically beyond Bravo from just inside the penalty area.

As the Spanish players celebrated, Chilean midfielder Marco Estrada, who had already picked up a yellow card, was shown another and dismissed after he appeared to catch Torres's heel off the ball, sending the striker tumbling to the ground.

It didn't look like there was much contact, but the referee saw otherwise and gave Marco Estrada the marching orders.

Tevez gets away with blatant off-side goal

A South American treat was on the cards when Mexico faced Argentina in the Round of 16 clash.

It was an exciting start as Mexico had looked comfortable from the start, pinging the ball around and going close when Carlos Salcido smashed a long-range shot against the bar.

But the Mexicans got rattled after Tevez scored the opener, which was clearly struck from an off-side position.

Tevez opened the scoring after his low effort was blocked by goalkeeper Oscar Perez. Lionel Messi chipped the rebound to his fellow-forward who had strayed into an off-side position and headed the ball into the net.

The Mexicans protested the decision and Italian referee Roberto Rosetti ran over to consult his assistant linesman, who was surrounded by irate players, before confirming the goal. There was a heated exchange between the teams' two benches over the issue after the half-time whistle.